


The Beach

by purplebass



Category: Shades of Magic - V. E. Schwab
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:47:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26363668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplebass/pseuds/purplebass
Summary: No idea if this is an AU story. Maybe a bit.Kell and Lila spend a morning at the beach with Rhy and Alucard.
Relationships: Alucard Emery/Rhy Maresh, Delilah Bard/Kell Maresh
Kudos: 12
Collections: Kell and Lila's Adventure





	The Beach

Saying that Kell hated the beach would be a lie. No, he didn’t hate the beach. He just didn’t like the idea of exposing himself to the sun, to the crowd, to the attention. And his skin was so pale that he couldn’t spend much time without any protection. Yet, when Lila pleaded him to go because she missed the beach, he said yes.

“Come on, Kell. You say you always spend time inside and say you feel trapped, then, when I present you with the chance to actually enjoy yourself, you say no.” Lila admonished him as she checked the items inside of her beach bag. She was wearing a t-shirt and leggings, and Kell realized that she was set on going because she was ready. He could see the straps of her swimsuit behind her neck, and he sighed at the thought of Lila in a bathing suit.

“But,” Kell started, but he was cut off by Rhy’s entrance.

“Did somebody say enjoyment?” he asked, one of his hands placed on his hip.

Rhy looked at Lila, then at Kell, and rolled his eyes. “I was just telling Kell that I wanted to go to the beach because I miss it,” she grinned, seeing that Rhy was nodding in approval. “But Kell doesn’t want to come, and I would really like him to come with me.”

“That’s understandable since you never spend time together,” Rhy slightly tucked his chin and raised one eyebrow at Kell, who had turned seven shades of red. Of course, he was mocking them.

Kell and Lila worked for the House of Maresh as ambassadors of sorts. They preferred to travel together when they knew that the journey would take long, like when they had to go back to Lila’s London, the Grey one. They insisted on staying together because of unidentified reasons. They both knew that Rhy was aware they invented excuses to spend more time in each other’s company while they were on duty. They didn’t spend whole days together, but their paths crossed a lot even they didn’t have to run the same errands. The palace was big but not big enough, and they enjoyed meeting each other by chance. The night was the only moment where Lila and Kell were always inseparable. After all, they shared the same bed.

“As if you didn’t do the same with your boyfriend, _my_ king,” Lila nudged Rhy and waggled her eyebrows at him. Rhy looked away and bit his lip.

“Fine, fine,” he tapped his foot on the floor. “If you’re going, I want to come too. I have a private beach nearby, and I think it would be better if we don’t mingle with the crowd, as much as I would love that. Now that I’m a king, I am afraid I can’t do it.”

“Then that’s it!” Lila cheered, closed her bag and put it on her shoulder. “See, someone is more excited than you, Kell.”

“I’m going to get ready and fetch Alucard on the way,” Rhy announced, then walked out.

Kell was scowling as usual, his arms crossed on his chest. He was undecided, and Lila probably understood. She tilted her head and started at him for a few seconds, then closed the distance between them.

“What’s wrong?” she asked nicely, beaming at him.

“Nothing is wrong.”

“You don’t know how to lie,” she retorted, furrowing her brows. “I know you’re not fond of the beach, but I think it’s something else. I understand if you don’t want to tell me, but –“

“I can’t swim,” Kell revealed. He didn’t meet Lila’s eyes at first, because he was embarrassed and didn’t want to catch the pity in her eyes. But then he gazed at her, and found nothing but understanding in her irises. Both in the black and the brown one.

“That’s okay, Kell,” she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. “I can. We don’t have to go far if you don’t know how to do it. We can just stay on the shore and damp our feet.”

“It’s embarrassing.”

“No, it is not. It just means you’re not perfect, _master_ Kell,” Lila raised an eyebrow and grinned. “But then, who is perfect in this world? Don’t say me, because it isn’t true. Although, maybe…”

Kell sighed and rolled his eyes. “Alright, I’ll come.”

And here they were. The palace had a private beach for the royals, and by extension, Kell, Lila and Alucard could use it to their own pleasure even when Rhy would not be able to come. The sun was high in the sky, the weather was warm, and it was the perfect day to relax on the red sand that touched a side of the beautiful quarters of the royal palace.

The beach wasn’t that big, but since it was destined to private use, it was enough. A couple of beach umbrellas were open and under them, there were different types of chairs and beds. On both sides stood big rocks to protect the beach from being erased by the water. _The water_ , thought Kell as he surveilled the area. He had never been there except when he was a child and Rhy begged him to come to keep him company _. It will be alright if I don’t go far, he added_ , lost in his thoughts. Lila squeezed his hand and he glanced at her. He had no idea how his face looked like in that instant, but he hoped he didn’t look too uneasy.

“It’s okay, I’m here,” she reassured him, and she dragged him to one of the umbrellas that someone had already opened for them.

Rhy and Alucard had scattered their clothes on a random chair and went into the ocean. As Kell watched them splash each other with water, he didn’t feel Lila tapping him on the shoulder. When he turned to face her, she had stripped down to her one-piece midnight colored swimsuit. He couldn’t help but gape at her. He had seen her with less clothing on, but still, every time he glanced at Lila, he was mesmerized. He knew she would rather wear men’s clothes than show her curves, but you couldn’t do that on the beach.

“Come on, Kell! You’re still wearing too much!” Lila challenged him with a smirk.

“I –“ he sputtered, unable to form coherent thoughts. “What am I doing?” he asked out loud.

“You’re not taking your clothes off,” she replied for him. “While when we are alone, you seem eager to get everything that separates us off me,” she winked at him.

Kell’s cheeks warmed at the comment and he smiled. “You’re right, but we are not in our bedroom right now.”

“And we are not naked even,” Lila retorted. “You’re behaving like a child.”

“I’m not behaving like a child. It’s just, I feel like my skin will burn under this midday sun, you know. I’m pale as a ghost.”

“So what? You want to keep your royal pallor, _my_ prince?”

“I’m not a prince, Lila,” Kell protested, rolling his eyes. In the background, he could hear Rhy laughing at something Alucard had said.

“I dare you to take your clothes off and follow me to that rock,” Lila grinned, tilting her head towards the ocean and running towards the water. Kell saw her dive into the blue and disappear for a matter of seconds until she resurfaced again.

And he sighed. _Don’t be stupid, Kell_ , he admonished himself, then took his clothes off until he was in his black swim shorts and went after Lila. Thankfully for him, the rocks she had dared him to reach were in the opposite direction of where Rhy and Alucard were playing. There was a nook between two black ones, and Lila’s body faced them. She was smoothing her brown hair and she seemed lost in her own thoughts when Kell approached her from behind and kissed her neck. She shivered, but not from the cold. His hands reached her narrow waist and reunited on her stomach.

“Caught you,” Kell whispered in her ear.

“Told you it was easy,” she replied, throwing her head back so that it would rest on his shoulder and she would be able to see part of his face. She was grinning, clearly enjoying herself.

“I can still touch the ground, Lila.”

“I know you would. It was just a way to make you come into the water.”

“It looks like you succeeded,” he congratulated her, looking at her through his long lashes.

“Can I claim my prize?” she asked, but before she could add more, Kell kissed her lips.

He turned her body so she was facing him, and she laced her legs around his waist and her arms behind his neck. The kiss was urgent, demanding, and then wet. Kell lowered himself so they were underwater. Lila didn’t protest even when the air left her lungs. Then he brought them up on the surface. Their lips separated above the water, and they both grasped for air. He hadn’t let her body go. He was still gripping her back and she was still holding on to his back for balance, her legs still in the same place as few moments before. They stared at each other as they tried to regain their lost breath. “Well, that was… Breathless,” Lila decided with a bright grin on her face.

“Save your breath for later,” Kell said smugly, straightening his spine and adjusting her body around his.

“You too,” she replied with an enigmatic smile.

A while later, they decided it was time to go back on the shore and relax on the comfortable beds. They were big enough to fit two people, so when Kell lied down, Lila decided to curl up next to him. The cozy bed made them fall asleep, but it didn’t last long, because they were disturbed by a gush of cold water soaking them. “What the hell?” Lila hissed and sat up, still half asleep. She looked at her wet legs, arms, hair, and frowned when she saw Rhy standing in front of the bed. “It was you.”

“It was icy! Why did you do it?” Kell demanded, frowning as well, adjusting himself on the bed.

“You both looked like you needed a cold shower, guys,” he shrugged, then started running towards the ocean when Kell and Lila stood up and went after him. He tried to hide behind Alucard. In the end, Kell pushed Rhy back into the ocean as a payback. It was fun. Perhaps the beach wasn’t so bad after all.


End file.
